Newington High School Students Create Student Store

Posted by Kevin Schaffner Newington Public Schools, Community Contributor

Students involved with the day to day functions of the NHS student store called The Trading Post.

Students involved with the day to day functions of the NHS student store called The Trading Post. (Posted by Kevin Schaffner Newington Public Schools, Community Contributor)

Community Contributor Kevin Schaffner Newington Public Schools

In March of 2014 the Newington High School chapter of DECA (Distributive Education Clubs of America) lead an initiative to create a student store. The goal was to allow students to create a fully functioning business from the ground up. Vice President of the student group, Caroline Bielaszka, commented on why she along with several other students wanted to create The Trading Post. "I've always been interested in business and when we saw other schools starting student stores we decided to create one here (Newington High School). We figured it would help us learn about how to promote and run a business." With the help of faculty advisor Mrs. Miller, the student group lead by President Victoria Usmanova, Vice President Caroline Bielaszka, Treasurer Amanda Gagnon, and Schedule Supervisor Lauren Petrozza started on their path to creating The Newington High School Trading Post.

The first step of the process was getting approval and funding. Students, Caroline Bielaszka and Allison Madrazo drafted a proposal and met with Superintendent of School Dr. Collins and CFO Mr. Jachimowicz to present the idea. Due to the professionalism of the presenters and the comprehensive proposal, The Trading Post was quickly approved and funded.

Now that DECA had the approval and funding, the next step was creating the store. Every decision from the type of cash register to the amount of shelves was decided by the students. "I wanted to make sure the students did everything in order to empower them and to give them an authentic business experience" commented Mrs. Miller when asked about the student level of involvement during the creation process. Construction was accomplished during the summer of 2015 and the store officially opened on the first day of school, August 27th.

Currently The Trading Post employs 20 students during breaks in their schedules and sells school pride merchandise, snacks, and supplies. Thus far The Trading Post has had resounding success, selling out multiple times during big events such as themed home games. Also, The Trading Post is proud to announce its first ever employee of the month. Congratulations to Kevin Bilbraut for his hard work and dedication over the summer and during the past few months in helping make the idea of The Trading Post into a reality.

When asked what her favorite part of the process was, Mrs. Miller, faculty advisor to DECA responded, "it's great and inspiring to see the students make business decisions and seeing their ideas come to reality." The success of The NHS Trading Post serves as a testament to what can happen when like minded students come together to achieve a common goal.

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